In a video podcast published on 19 April, Lawyers on Fire interviews Jochen Brandhoff on the opening evening of LEGAL ®EVOLUTION 2017. Jochen Brandhoff describes his personal highlights and reflects on the event: LEGAL ®EVOLUTION 2017 attracted more visitors and exhibitors than expected. In 2018, LEGAL ®EVOLUTION plans to have significantly more visitors. LEGAL ®EVOLUTION 2018 is relevant for every European attorney, according to Jochen Brandhoff.

TalentRocket surveyed lawyers from Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer and BRANDHOFF OBERMÜLLER PARTNER and posed the question: how can one purposefully prepare to be successful in the first German bar exam, the “Erste Juristisches Prüfung”. The answers to this question are found in the newly published “Handbuch Prädikatsexamen”, 1. ed., Munich 2016. In the handbook, BRANDHOF OBERMÜLLER PARTNER comments on three major topics: the importance of licensing examinations in the legal market of the future (pg. 15); the necessity for an attention to detail and the ability to think in economic terms (pg. 50); the emergence of the oral examination (pg. 88). The handbook is meant to be an well-rounded guidebook for young jurists leading up to their bar exams and was developed in cooperation with practicing attorneys and bar examiners alike. If you have questions, please contact Simon Benedikt, Kaiserstraße 53, D-60329 Frankfurt, info(@)bop.legal, www.bop.legal, Tel: +49 (0)69 34 87 92 00.

Süddeutsche Zeitung: 23. January 2017. Just one day before the opening of oral arguments at the European Court of Justice (ECJ), Detlef Esslinger of the Süddeutsche Zeitung has published an article highlighting the preliminary ruling procedure in Case 566/15, which is being led by BRANDHOF OBERMÜLLER PARTNER (“Weg da!“, SZ Nr. 18 v. 23.10.2017, S. 6 (Politik)). In the piece, our partner, Dr. Jochen Brandhoff, and Of Counsel, Dr. Caspar Behme, attorney and representative of the claimant, explain the origin and purpose of the so-called “TUI Case”.

The question presented to the ECJ is whether the current German corporate co-determination legislation is incompatible with the principles of European Union law. According to the current law, the employees of German corporations working outside of Germany have no right to participate either actively or passively in the election of labor representatives to company supervisory boards.

Jochen Brandhoff and Caspar Behme emphasize that their client’s intent is not to effectuate the abolishment or even the limitation of employee rights to representation in supervisory boards. Rather, with this lawsuit he is seeking to affect the Europeanization of this right to co-determination and thereby broaden its base of legitimacy. His reasoning is that any support for the principle of German co-determination must also encompass support for the inclusion of the company’s workforce abroad in these decisions. The public policy behind the right of co-determination is to ensure the wealth of experience offered by a company’s employees flows into and is reflected in the work of the supervisory board. This policy goal cannot be achieved, however, when a company employs its workforce throughout the Member States of the EU but restricts the right of co-determination to a minority of its employees — that is, giving it exclusively to those employees working within German borders. Companies will often make this restriction even when it employs the vast majority of its workforce abroad.

You can read the full article printed in the Süddeutsche Zeitung here.

“Advocado: Zalando for lawyers – the start-up providing legal services over the internet” was the headline on page 20 of Handelsblatt on 17th August 2016 (print edition no. 158). The newspaper dedicated a full-page report to advocado GmbH, which is a successful legal start-up based in Greifswald. The article describes the company’s business model, its corporate partnerships with the cooperative Volksbanken and Edeka, and the rapidly growing legal-tech market.

Our partner Jochen Brandhoff, who is named in the article as an investor behind advocado, explains: “advocado is an internet platform which brings together consumers and providers of specialised legal services. The lawyers are paid a fixed fee and mandates can be executed quickly and safely using the IT infrastructure. In this way, advocado is contributing to the digital transformation of the legal market. Legal-tech companies offer software solutions and tools which make the legal market more transparent and more efficient. They give legal departments and consumers the ability to access quality legal services at a cheaper rate.”

Jochen Brandhoff is a business angel who has backed advocado and other legal start-ups; he also advises companies on the use of legal technology. With a partner, he founded Jus2click back in 1999. This was the first legal-tech start-up in Germany, and he sold it in 2003.

BRANDHOFF OBERMÜLLER PARTNERS advises buyers and sellers on company acquisitions and other corporate transactions in the digital technology field. This includes the LegalTech, FinTech, InsurTech, RegTech, PropTech, MedTech, E-health and CleanTech sectors. In addition, BRANDHOFF OBERMÜLLER PARTNERS advises companies on the legal and tax aspects brought up by the digital transformation of the economy. This includes digital networking, the autonomous control of machines and production facilities, autonomous and networked driving, targeted advertising, the blockchain and blockchain applications, smart data and the world of smart services.

In its April edition, the periodical JUVE reports on Dr. Martin Obermüller’s switch to Brandhoff & Partner (now Brandhoff Obermüller Partner). In the extensive article “Obermüller zu Brandhoff & Partner” (“Obermüller joins Brandhoff & Partner” JUVE 04/2016, P. 20) the periodical reports on our Partner’s background and the story behind the establishment of Brandhoff Obermüller Partner as a leading commercial law firm focused on renewable energy, M&A, tax law, corporate law, as well as the drafting and negotiation of contracts.

On 26 February 2016, Legal Tribune Online reported on the union of the Frankfurt team at Wutzke & Förster with Brandhoff & Partner. Since 1 March 2016 the firm is known under the name of BRANDHOFF OBERMÜLLER PARTNER. The article can be found here.

Brandhoff & Partner obtained a review of German corporate codetermination before the European Court of Justice. Brandhoff & Partner is featured in the business section of today’s Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung. The FAZ reports on the status proceedings according to Section 98 German Stock Corporation Act that Brandhoff & Partner brought before the Berlin Court of Appeals. This appears in a comment on P. 15 and a comprehensive article can be found on P. 17.

The book „Karriere in der Wirtschafts- und Großkanzlei” published in the beginning of 2015 deals with the law firm market. It gives an insight into the business of leading commercial law firms from the perspective of young lawyers and attorneys. The authors of the new, fourth edition of the book write about Brandhoff & Partner on page 124, that legal advice can benefit a lot, when the lawyers know from their own experience how a company works. The lawyers from the firm Brandhoff & Partner in Frankfurt am Main can draw on their experience as most of them had worked as heads of law departments or managers of companies specializing in renewable energies.Their slogan of the firm “From industry to advisory“ sounds justifiable. Some selected commercial law firms are presented in the book, starting from page 185. The profile of Brandhoff & Partner is to be found on page 213. The book can be ordered online or found in bookstores (e.g. from Beck-Verlag) with the ISBN number 978-3-940345-81-3.

Brandhoff & Partner has been selected for the second time in a row as one of the German leading law firms to be listed in the new issue of the legal guide “Kanzleien in Deutschland 2014” (Law Firms in Germany 2014), an annual publication of the renowned German Verlags publishing house Nomos (part of the Verlagsgruppe C.H. Beck) The editorial office of the publishing house, consisting of 25 people, selects around 400 leading practices out of 10.000 commercial law firms.

The presentation of Brandhoff & Partner on pages 132 and 133 emphasizes the corporate background/industry experience of the lawyers working for the firm. „Thanks to their industry experiences (the firm) is able to assist high-volume joint ventures”. Particular sensitivity to international character of the affairs contributes to the quality of the law firm of (almost) medium size. “Consulting services provided by the firm reach Europe, Africa, Asia and South America“.

The editor describes our focus in the following words: „Within the reporting period, the firm focused on assisting companies which are active in the renewable energy sector. It advised them on all issues regarding business and public law, particularly in large projects and transactions in the field of photovoltaic and wind energy.” The firm has the potential to support companies in the renewable energy sector well, the photovoltaic area being an important part of the sector.“

Many new lawyers have started to work for the firm. As a result, the key area of the firm’s activity will increasingly expand throughout cross-sector legal advice to SMEs: As the editor reports, an increase of clients from companies and family offices outside the renewable energy sector has taken place.

Sun & Wind Energy is one of the most important mediums of the renewable energy sector. It covers a broad spectrum of renewable energy sources but concentrates on either solar or wind power with each issue. The latest publication is a solar-issue focussing on Southern Europe. In this context, Sun & Wind Energy did an Interview with Dr. Jochen Brandhoff about the legal and economic aspects of an entry into the Turkish and Italian photovoltaics markets. The full interview is available here.